Rikers Island Prison Complex

News about Rikers Island Prison Complex, including commentary and archival articles published in The New York Times.

Chronology of Coverage

Feb. 24, 2015

Editorial expresses dismay that 62 cases of severe inmate abuse by correction officers at New York City's Rikers Island prison complex have taken place during de Blasio administration, even as federal and city officials have been concentrating on addressing the problem; calls for immediate action from Mayor Bill de Blasio and correction commissioner Joseph Ponte to address continuing horrors at Rikers Island. MORE

Feb. 22, 2015

Review of official documents reveals that there have been 62 cases in which inmates at Rikers Island were seriously injured by correction officers between August 2014 and January 2015; period overlaps with time when New York City and federal officials have focused on issue, and suggests culture of violence continues despite scrutiny and additional resources allocated by Mayor Bill de Blasio. MORE

Feb. 11, 2015

New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio proposes increasing Correction Department budget by $54 million to reduce use of force by guards, update hiring process and improve programs for juvenile inmates; move, which has been praised by inmate advocates and department critics, follows months of scrutiny by news media and city and federal investigators into conditions at Rikers Island. MORE

Jan. 31, 2015

Editorial asserts that long delays in disciplining Rikers Island prison guards charged with brutality and other offenses points to need for major reform of Correction Department's disciplinary process; notes that it took three years to dismiss captain and five guards accused of savagely beating mentally ill inmate Robert Hinton; applauds dismissal, rather than suspension, of officers and urges further changes. MORE

Jan. 23, 2015

New York State Commission of Correction concludes that gross incompetence by medical personnel and correction officers caused death of mentally ill inmate Bradley Ballard at Rikers Island in 2013; commission calls for Justice Dept to investigate possible human rights violations. MORE

Jan. 22, 2015

New York City Correction Commissioner Joseph Ponte fires Captain Budnarine Behari and five subordinate Rikers Island guards who had hogtied and savagely beat inmate Robert Hinton in April 2012; move is latest evidence that growing pressure from federal and city officials may be having an impact on rampant violence at prison. MORE

Jan. 17, 2015

Editorial deplores revelations from New York City Department of Investigation study showing major lapses in Department of Correction's screening process for jail guards; notes that many guards at Rikers Island and other prisons had criminal backgrounds, gang affiliations or other histories that should have disqualified them from holding job; holds that horrific abuses at Rikers cannot be addressed until reforms are put in place. MORE

Jan. 15, 2015

Report by New York City Dept of Investigation finds that over one third of Correction Dept's recently hired officers should have been disqualified based on glaring background issues; shows many had gang affiliations, criminal histories, psychological problems or relatives and friends among inmates; finds serious shortcomings in screening process; Correction Commissioner Joseph Ponte plans to implement stricter employment standards. MORE

Jan. 14, 2015

New York City officials reach agreement on plan to eliminate use of solitary confinement for inmates 21 and younger at Rikers Island, putting jail complex at head of national jail reform movement; move, effective January 2016, is prominent change by administration of Mayor Bill de Blasio in dealing with young disruptive inmates. MORE

Jan. 3, 2015

Mentally ill inmate Fabian Cruz is found dead inside his cell in Rikers Island Prison with bedsheet wrapped around his neck; suicide highlights dysfunction that continues to pervade the jail even as New York City officials work to fix it; Justice Department has filed lawsuit against the city for widespread abuse and neglect of inmates. MORE

Jan. 2, 2015

Editorial warns federal oversight may be necessary for enforcement of reforms of Rikers Island jail complex; holds bullying and underhanded tactics of Norman Seabrook, president of correction officers' union, shows he may well block Mayor Bill de Blasio's proposed reforms; says Seabrook has supported unacceptable status quo for long time and has been able to amass enormous power. MORE

Dec. 25, 2014

Lawyers representing Rikers Island inmates in class action suit will meet with New York City's Law Department for three consecutive days of negotiations; judge grants request by United States attorney in Manhattan to join suit; talks will focus on issues including treatment of adolescent inmates and use of force by guards. MORE

Dec. 20, 2014

Editorial expresses optimism that decision by the Justice Department to join pending class-action lawsuit against New York City Corrections Department will speed up Rikers Island reforms and punish those guards who have contributed to violence at prison. MORE

Dec. 19, 2014

United States Atty in Manhattan Preet Bharara joins class-action lawsuit against New York City over civil rights violations and brutality at Rikers Island jail complex; decision comes in wake of his office issuing report that cited pervasive and 'deep-seated culture of violence' aimed at adolescent inmates. MORE

Dec. 19, 2014

Jim Dwyer About New York column remarks on political influence of Correction Officers’ Benevolent Association union, which has gotten bill passed giving Queens, rather than Bronx, district attorney jurisdiction over Rikers Island prison complex; union has given significant amount of money to state elected officials and campaign committees of both parties. MORE

Dec. 18, 2014

Rikers Island correction officer Terrence Pendergrass is found guilty of violating the constitutional rights of a prisoner for refusing to seek medical attention for Rikers Island inmate Jason Echevarria, who was found dead in his cell; Pendergrass faces up to 10 years in federal prison. MORE

Dec. 18, 2014

New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio visits troubled Rikers Island jail complex for first time since taking office; notes fulfillment of pledge to end solitary confinement for juveniles as part of continuing reforms at facility. MORE

Dec. 17, 2014

Closing arguments are heard and jury begins deliberation in Federal District Court trial of former Rikers Island captain Terrence Pendergrass in death of mentally ill inmate Jason Echevarria; Pendergrass is accused of depriving Echevarria of medical attention after he had swallowed a toxic substance; if convicted on civil rights charge, Pendergrass faces potential 10-year sentence. MORE

Dec. 15, 2014

Norman Seabrook, powerful president of Correction Officers' Benevolent Assn union, has exerted enormous control over Correction Dept during his two-decade tenure; investigation by New York Times reveals that Seabrook's influence has fed culture of corruption and violence at Rikers Island jail complex, even as he protected union members, and has stalled attempted reforms. MORE

Dec. 10, 2014

Terrence Pendergrass, Rikers Island correction officer who is on trial for violating civil rights of prisoner Jason Echevarria by denying him medical attention, disputes prosecutor's account of Echevarria's death. MORE

Dec. 9, 2014

Carol Lackner, correction officer on duty when homeless veteran Jerome Murdough died at Rikers Island, is charged with lying on jail records; prosecutors say Lackner falsely claimed to have checked on Murdough that night; Lackner is so far the only person to face criminal charges in Murdough's death. MORE

Nov. 29, 2014

Editorial welcomes New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio's plans for reforms at Rikers Island jail complex, where violence and corruption has proliferated; warns, however, that vigilance is needed to ensure that the prison's old, abusive system is replaced by more compassionate one. MORE

Nov. 21, 2014

New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio urges deep culture change at Rikers Island and says stopping widespread violence at the jail complex is a high priority of his administration; in hourlong news conference, de Blasio characterizes New York Correction Dept, which oversees complex, as city's most troubled agency; says he will visit Rikers in December to see problems firsthand. MORE

Nov. 7, 2014

Investigator posing as guard successfully smuggles drugs, alcohol and a razor blade into Rikers Island, reinforcing doubts about city's ability to stem widespread corruption and brutality at the prison complex; Investigation Dept report shows that new heightened security measures in place since September are not being followed, and calls on city's Correction Dept to take steps to bolster screening. MORE

Nov. 4, 2014

Editorial argues that resignations of Rikers Island Warden William Clemons and other high-level officers is not enough to restore confidence in effort to reform complex's startling culture of violence; calls on Correction Commissioner Joseph Ponte to implement more stringent measures recommended in United States attorney's report on abuses at Rikers. MORE

Nov. 1, 2014

New York City reaches $2.25 million settlement with Alma Murdough, whose mentally ill son Jerome Murdough died on Feb 15 in an overheated cell at Rikers Island Prison Complex; case has come to exemplify the many shortcomings of city jails and the criminal justice system at large. MORE

Oct. 29, 2014

Three high-ranking officials in New York City's Correction Department are stepping down amid mounting criticism over handling of violence and corruption at Rikers Island; surprise departures of William Clemons, chief of department, and deputies Joandrea Davis and Gregory McLaughlin come just five months after all three were appointed to their current posts by Correction Dept Commissioner Joseph Ponte. MORE

Oct. 17, 2014

New York City comptroller Scott Stringer reports that city spent record $1.1 billion to run jails in 2014 fiscal year, nearly twice amount spent per inmate in other large cities; Correction Department is under pressure to rein in violence following series of reports about harsh jail conditions, but falling inmate population and higher ratio of guards to prisoners have produced counterintuitive result, with assaults by guards and inmate violence on rise. MORE

Oct. 10, 2014

Editorial contends Justice Dept is wholly justified in threatening to sue New York City if Mayor Bill de Blasio does not act promptly to improve conditions at Rikers Island jail; calls on federal officials to consider using civil rights statutes to prosecute cases of brutality and misconduct that local authorities have overlooked or declined to bring to court. MORE

Oct. 9, 2014

New York City lawmakers sharply criticize correction commissioner Josephe Ponte at hearing, raising questions about his ability to curb pervasive violence against inmates at Rikers Island prison; several press Ponte about moving adolescents to another facility, indicating growing consensus that Rikers Island is no place for younger inmates. MORE

Oct. 4, 2014

Editorial supports New York City Council's plan to introduce two bills to limit city’s cooperation with federal authorities in jailing immigrants and to remove federal immigration agents from Rikers Island; says in doing so New York will join growing number of municipalities in deciding that costs of such immigration policies are too high, in terms of damage to immigrant communities, undermining police work and expense of housing detainees. MORE

Oct. 1, 2014

Preet Bharara, United States attorney for Southern District of New York, reasserts he expects reforms to be made at Rikers Island and is prepared to sue New York City, if necessary, to accomplish them; his office highlighted violence against teenage inmates at the jail. MORE

Sep. 30, 2014

Administrative JudgeTynia Richard recommends firing six Rikers Island guards involved in beating of inmate Robert Hinton in 2012; decision is a fresh indication that pressure by federal prosecutors, as well as scrutiny by the media, may be starting to have an effect on the way such brutality cases, long tolerated by New York State Correction Dept, are handled. MORE

Sep. 29, 2014

New York City Correction Dept tells Mayor Bill de Blasio that it will eliminate solitary confinement for 16- and 17-year-old inmates by end of 2014, amid increasingly vocal calls to improve conditions at Rikers Island jail complex. MORE

Sep. 24, 2014

New York Mayor Bill de Blasio, rankling union leaders, says he wants to alter civil service laws so he can use uniformed officers from outside Correction Department to help reform Rikers Island prison complex. MORE

Sep. 23, 2014

United States Atty Preet Bharara criticizes administration of New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio for not moving fast enough to address culture of violence at Rikers Island jail complex; warns that his office stands ready to file civil rights lawsuit against city to force reforms. MORE

Sep. 23, 2014

Editorial condemns New York's Department of Correction after news that it sanitized a 2012 report on two Rikers Island jail officials who were grossly derelict in their duties; contends it is only the latest evidence that the department has become dysfunctional and requires a systemic overhaul. MORE

Sep. 22, 2014

Newly uncovered internal study reveals that hundreds of inmate fights went unreported at Rikers Island prison following appointment of warden William Clemons and deputy warden Turhan Gumusdere in 2011; report finds that men, who were heralded at time for reducing violence, abdicated all responsibility in reporting statistics; investigation of report and its fallout reveal pervasive dysfunction at New York City's Correction Department. MORE

Sep. 13, 2014

New York City medical examiner's office rules that February 2014 death of mentally ill veteran Jerome Murdough in overheated cell at Rikers Island was accidental; ruling raises questions of culpability in the case. MORE

Sep. 11, 2014

Family of Bradley Ballard, who died at Rikers Island in mental health observation unit, sues city of New York, correction officials, contractor that provides medical services in jails and three doctors and other personnel; lawyers say Ballard, who had schizophrenia and diabetes, was ignored for week while confined in cell. MORE

Sep. 9, 2014

New York City Correction Commissioner Joseph Ponte announces that city has hired management consulting firm McKinsey & Company to develop a plan of reforms; decision follows revelations about pervasive brutality by jail staff and other serious problems at Rikers Island prison complex; firm, which has little experience working with prisons, will spend at least 12 weeks at Rikers and in Correction Department’s offices. MORE

Aug. 29, 2014

New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio enacts legislation to boost oversight of use of solitary confinement at Rikers Island prison complex; law comes in wake of growing criticism over conditions at facility. MORE

Aug. 25, 2014

Op-Ed article by New York City Correction Officers' Benevolent Assn president Norman Seabrook contends poor conditions and violence at Rikers Island jail cannot be blamed on the behavior of corrections officers alone; argues officers face a deadly work environment and tough challenges in dealing with rising number of mentally ill inmates, and that administrators have done little to support them. MORE

Aug. 23, 2014

Florence L Finkle, top investigator at the New York Correction Department, resigns under pressure from New York City leaders who are facing a federal mandate to regain control of the Rikers Island jail complex; departure is first among many changes expected in response to damning federal inquiry that found adolescents were routinely beaten by staff members who rarely faced any consequences. MORE

Aug. 20, 2014

Report from New York City Comptroller Scott M Stringer says personal-injury claims against the Correction Dept have more than doubled from 2009 to 2014; links the 114 percent increase to inmates with mental health issues and the use of solitary confinement, especially at Rikers Island Prison Complex; adds to growing body of evidence of disturbing practices at Rikers, and is part of program called ClaimStat, which is aimed at studying claims against city in effort to curb future lawsuits and settlements. MORE

Aug. 8, 2014

Federal Labor Dept issues highest level of censure to Corizon Health Inc, New York City contractor that provides medical and mental health services to inmates at Rikers Island, for failing to protect employees from violence at the jail complex. MORE

Aug. 6, 2014

Bronx district attorney's office says that it is declining to prosecute officers identified in report from office of Preet Bharara, United States attorney for Southern District of New York, about culture of violence against adolescent inmates at Rikers Island; decision comes day after report placed much of blame for culture of brutality on failure to punish guards who use excessive and unnecessary force. MORE

Aug. 6, 2014

Editorial praises Justice Dept report on culture of violence against teenagers at Rikers Island for recommending that all adolescents be removed from jail complex altogether; underscores importance of report's call for complete reform of institutional culture of jail system to ensure that such violence is no longer tolerated. MORE

Aug. 5, 2014

Report by office of United States Atty Preet Bharara says New York City Department of Correction has systematically violated the civil rights of male teenagers held at Rikers Island; says it has failed to protect them from unnecessary and excessive force by guards who operated with little fear of punishment; reports that problems may also exist in complex's seven other jails for adult men and women. MORE

A review of official documents revealed 62 cases in which inmates were seriously injured by correction officers between last August and January, a period of increased attention on conditions at the jail complex.